Over the last half century, a mainly American counter culture has arisen from the depths of human self-experimentation and is now a highly debated topic. Drugs were the central focus of the 1960’s and into the 70’s. The liberal use of marijuana was an integral part of the common image of what we call a “hippie”, who is someone dressed in tribal outfits, a headband, a Volkswagen van, and a love of the grateful dead or Beatles. The use of it was so widespread in fact that an underground black market emerged. Many people who may have already been introduced into the world of hallucinogen knew that it was a high demand product and that there was money to be made from the teenagers and college students of America. Of course, however, marijuana has been around significantly longer than one might think, it was first used in ancient china to cure several diseases including malaria since it was thought to have medicinal value. As it spread it became to be used by Muslims as a replacement for alcohol which had been banned by the Quran. Similarly it was believed that marijuana was first used for its recreational purposes in the 1920’s due to prohibition, coffee shops or areas to smoke marijuana became rapidly evident across the U.S. and it remained legal because it was not yet known as a threat. Our American culture fully embraced the marijuana experience, however, it evolved to be frowned upon and I was raised to see that it can only have damaging effects and that only nonintellectuals use the drug or any drug for that matter. This is mainly true, there are several sources of reliable medical data that have proven that marijuana kills brain cells via the active chemical THC which blocks oxygen to the brain while activating receptors. I believe marijuana should remain illegal because it is proficient at destroying the potential intellectual capabilities of younger minds.

Marijuana usage can not only lead to damaged memory and problem solving but to actual mental...